Mute
by Prince-Dizzi
Summary: Riku was born and raised in the crazy karada household. He thought he had one of the harshest lifes, but when he stumbled across a young Brunette teen, his life was a cakewalk.
1. Chapter 1

I thought I'd seen it all, but this just takes the cake. My life was pretty messed up, but when I saw this kid, I counted my lucky stars. It all started on that dreaded trip to the market....

"Would you get a move on Riku? I've seen lilies grow faster than your walking!" Mallory teased.

I _hated_ going grocery shopping with my sister, Mallory. Yes, I have a sister, deal with it. Anyways, I was helping her food shop for our monthly "family dinner".

"I'm moving as fast as I can! What's with all these veggies anyway? Going on another diet?" I teased back.  
She tossed her long purple braid off her shoulder and waddled over to the meat stand. Wait, did I just see her waddle? I was just about to ask when a small-boned brunette bumped into me. He squeaked as the bags flew from my arms, leaving leeks, onions,cabbage, and more vegetables I didn't know the names of scattered across the ground. I groaned at this before locking with bright blue eyes. They were red and puffy, but still pure - to me anyways-. He started to mumble and move away. I calmly got up and offered him my hand. His face looked so scared as he started to reach out to me, but he suddenly pulled away. I raised my eyebrows at this.

"You okay?" I asked.

His eyes went wide with shock at my words. Was this guy alright in the head? I was drawn from the thought by him scrambling to his bare - bloody? - feet and bolting out of the market. I wanted to give chase and question him, but someone grabbed my shoulder.

"How did this happen? Mallory's looking for you," Marluxia questioned and informed.

I vaguely blinked at my sister's husband and collected our groceries. I was pulled along to where Mallory was attempting to carry a whole pig out to the car without anyone's help. Marly rubbed his forhead in annoyance before helping his wife. I ignored their bickering by putting the groceries I had in the trunk. Who was that boy? And where on earth was he from? I started staring into space when once again someone ran into me. It was the brunette again, but he had barrelled into Marly and Mallory as well.

".....Sssaaaa....ss...." he appeared to hiss.

Mallory steadied herself and placed a pale, gentle hand on the kid's shoulder.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked.

He flinched away and ran off. I started after him, but this time Mallory stopped me by throwing the pig at me. She threw a freaking pig at me! I ended up sprawled out in the dirt with what is going to be dinner pinning me to the ground.

"You don't chase people you moron! I want to help too, but they have to come to us!" she yelled.

I grumbled as I shoved the dead thing off me to put in the car. Why I go shopping with her is beyond me.

"That kid was trying to say something to me...," I spoke softly.

Everyone at the table looked at me strangely. Marly gave an evil smirk before speaking.

"Did Riku develop a heart?"

Snickers broke across the room as I glared at the pink haired man. Fuu quirked an eyebrow at me when Sephiroth stabbed one of his katanas through the roasted pig in the center of the table. All laughter stopped in that instant.

"Now, who was trying to say something to you?" asked Sephiroth.

I cleared my throat to speak but - god help us - Mallory butted in by telling them:

"An adorable brunette ran into Riku and me. I heard him trying to say something, but when I asked what was wrong, his eyes got wide and sprinted. He looked so hurt, I wanted to take him home with us!"

I will never understand that woman, even if she's only a year younger then me. Anyways, Xemnas held a look of concern on his face before looking to me. God, that look always creeps me out.

"Now, how did the he seem to you, Riku?" he asked.

I took a deep breath in as everyone's eyes were on me, including my mom's, Jenova.

"Well he bumped into me while I was carrying some veggies. He was thin and looked sick. He had ran away when I asked if he was ok. I wanted to help the guy, but Mallory stopped me by yelling at me." I informed.

I left out how I saw his pure blue eyes and how he seems to pull at my chest. Mom stated to show stress as she picked at her cut of roasted pig. Xemnas rested a hand on her shoulder as she spoke up,

"Well let's hope he finds a safe place to stay the night."

Dinner was quiet after that with few comments made by a bickering Marly and Zexion. I ended up not eating and excusing myself early to get a shower. I could hear word break out at the table once I walked out the dining room. Sephiroth was making a teasing comment as I locked my bedroom door behind me. Good thing Septhiroth built me my own bathroom attached to my room. I turned the water as hot as it could go and stepped in. My mind started to blur the lines of how the day went as the water made my skin raw. The brunette somehow found his way into my mind and stood there with an innocent expression on his face. his skin was nicely tan with few bruises seen here and there on his limbs. He was much smaller then me and looked extremely fargile as he stood shivering in tattered clothes. Those bright blue eyes quickly looked to me, sparkling slightly. So innocent, yet so fragile...

"Riku, don't drown yourself in there!" Zexion yelled.

I sighed as i snapped out of my daydreaming to turn off the shower and dry off. I put some pajama pants on before unlocking my door. The instant the lock clicked, Zexion shoved open the door and slammed it in my face. Once he was in the room, he settled himself in my Favorite armchair. I looked at him coldly as i snapped,

" Well come on in Zexion, I don't mind having the door shoved in my face!"

His purple-gray eyes looked to be laughing at my words as the rest of him remained motionless. I gave up on glaring at him due to a forming headache. I collasped onto my bed and just stared at the ceiling. I started focusing on the sprial patterns once I heard Zexion take a book from my shelf and started reading it. My mind shifted to auto pilot as the patterns started forming faces. I could clearly see the brunette's face. He appeared to be crying just as a small child would. I lifted my hand out toward his face. HIs cheek was warm to the touch.

"Don't cry, everything's okay." I whispered.

His lips slowly turned up into a smile and the tears went away. I smiled back as he suddenly appearred to be sitting in front of me. HIs clothes were clean and he had no bruises. We were sitting face to face in my room, yet at the same time it didn't appear to be my room. He pulled my hand away from his face and placed it over his heart. I could see his gentle face blush and feel mine heat up. I moved closer to him, my heart pounding like a drum. I tilted his face toward me with my free hand. We both started to lean into one another when a Sudden screeching noise halted us.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! Sorry I've neglected you guys, but now I've got chapter 2 ready for ya! Enjoy!**

** P.S. please review! oh and i dont own any of these characters(except the few OCs running around),they belong to square enix.**

I bolted upright in bed, room dark and freezing There was no sign the brunette was there.

"...Damn dreams..." i muttered coldly.

I hit "off" on my on my clock and flopped back onto my pillows. My ceiling became my focus point, making sure  
I didn't drift back into dream mode. When had I fallen asleep? And when did Zexion leave? I tried to ponder about these questions until one of my migranes started. The pain numbed my thoughts when my head suddenly felt it was going to split in two. Groaning with the worsening pain, I crawled out of bed and picked up one of my blankets. What? The sun could be bright and when your head feels like it's going to explode, it burns like hell. I canrefully opened the door and got a face full of morning sun coming from the hall window. A low grumble emitted from my throat as I used the blankety to shield my now burning eyes. I dropped the rest of the blanket over my face and body, but i could still see where i was going. i ended up stumbling down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mom and Fuu were cooking while Zexion and Sephiroth started their argument for the looked up from his book when i settled in a chair at the table. I kept the blanket wrapped around me when he got up and handed me the bottle of aleive and a box of tissues. I looked up at him and removed the blanket from my face sleepily.

"I don't have a cold." I growled.

"That may be, but your nose is a crimson river right now." Xemnas stated.

This is when I noticed the blanket and my shirt had blood collecting in the folds. Damn it all. If there's one thing I hate about being a Karada, its the famous Karada migrane. if they get bad enough, we have extremely horrible nose bleeds that can last up to half an hour. I held wads of tissues to my gushing nose and quickly swallowed someAleive. Sephiroth gave a light chuckle as he picked up the blood drenched tissues and pill bottle.

"Zexion tells me you were talking in your sleep last night. Could that be what caused your 'migrane'?"

I froze in the middle of grabbing more tissues. Talking? In my sleep? I quickly shot Zexion a look that should have killed him as his eyes appeared to grin.

"What was it you said?Ah yes, it was'Don't cry...Everything's okay..." bantered Zexion.

he made it sound breathy and as if it was craving something. I stood up and was prepared to slug him in the jaw when mom and Fuu brought some eggs,bacon,bagels,coffee, and orange juice to the table.

"No fights." Stated Fuu.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Sephiroth sigh and put one of his veloved knifes back in his jacket. Asking about it would more than likely get me killed,so I ignored it- for the most part-. Zexion's eyes still appeared to grin as he nibbled on a bagel covered in jam. I was forced by Fuu and mom to eat a strip of bacon and two bites of egg before leaving to change for work.

"Would you please eat a little more of your eggs before going? You didn't eat much last night." mom worried.

As she said this, Xemnas stood up and headed for the front door. His twin began to snicker as an evil thought crossed his mind.

"Going to meet with your boytoy, brother?" Sephiroth teased.

Xemnas shot his twin a glare of spite as he spat out his words through clentched teeth.

"He's head if the Socialogy Department and my co-worker. Today we have a meeting with the rest of the Phycogical Wellfair Department!"

We then stormed out the door, shaking the house from the force of slaming said door. We quickly turned to look at mom, expecting her to freak out, but were suprised by her calmly drinking her orange juice. I shrugged it off and looked at the clock.

"Crap, Mallory's gonna be here any minute!" I realized.

Mom was trying to protest with me running up the stairs but I just ignored her. i changed into some faded jeans, a worn out black shirt, and my baggy grey hoodie. Mallory's rich voice chimed through the house, alerting me to head back downstairs. Asudden bang came from downstairs followed by mallory screaming, causing me to ruch down holding my spare Guitar Hero guitar like a baseball bat. When I realized it was Marly slaming the door behind him, everyone was staring at me in confusion. I relaxed my posture and desended the rest of the stairs and harshly shoved the controller into Zexion's chest. Everyone continued to watch as I walked into the kitchen, put some bagels in a small paper bag, and walked out the door to Mal's car. Her lilac colored car always sent shivers down my spine, but since mom won't let me get a car, I have to ride in the flower-patterned monster.

"Morning to you too Riku! Did Marly really scare you that much you were gonna beat him with a controller?" Mallory chimed.

"Maybe if he wasn't such a flaming jerk, I wouldn't want to scrape his face across teh ground." I snapped.

I got into the passenger seat as she held a hurt expression on her face. She slammed her door and jammed the key in the ignition. The instant the engine roared to life, she florred it and startled me for a moment. I slumped back and studied the road as Mal started to slow her mad driving. Within 5 minutes she lost her anger and started sniffling as she turned right. I nearly had a stroke when I looked over to she she had make-up running down her cheeks and caking on her skin. I was about to speak up when we passed a red light and almost collided with a series of cars. I threw my arm across my little sister as she slammed the break. I froze in that position from the shock of almost being in a crash and noticing how large mal's stomach was. She suddenly pushed my arm away and nearly shouted at me.

"Don't touch me!"

Everything went silent as we drove on. I started to analyze her closely as she focused on the road. She wore baggy clothing and her abdomen did look slightly larger then normal but her clothes hid it well. Her eyes appeared slightly dilated and her moods were showing more on her features then normal. I tried to process this when the sudden horror clicked in my brain. My fists balled up and caught Mallory's attention.

"Riku, are you okay? I'm sorry I sna-"

"How far along are you." I demanded.

A stillness washed over her as she questioned in a confused tone.

"What are you talking about?"

I looked over to her as we pulled up in front of Dahlia's Diner.I could see her squirm under my icy glare as I growled out my words.

"Don't play dumb damnit, I can clearly tell the fucking pansy knocked you up. Now answer the question, how far along?"

She was as still as glass while I said this. She stared wide-eyed at me for a moment before looking away and sighing. a small, shaky smile crossed her lips while she placed her delicate hands on her swollen stomach. She looked to me with teary eyes and whispered;

"Seven and three quarters."

I slammed my fist onto the dash board in outrage. I was ready to hang Marly y his intestines, cut his arms and tongue off, and castrate him with a spoon all while he's still breathing. mal had to shake me violently to get me out of my thoughts. I began to dig my nails into my palms as i spoke through my teeth.

"He's gonna die a VERY painful death, and if I cant kill him, our brothers will."

panic filled my little sister as her voice chimed with reason and worry.

"You can't tell the family yet. Plus, Marly and I want children. Mom isn't quite ready for this, nor are our brothers. Look, I planned on telling everyone the week I was due so none of you could make me get rid of them."

I sighed in annoyence that I didn't even care that she was having twins. Grabbing the paper bag, I got out the car and grunted.

"You owe me bigtime sis, bigtime."

She squealed in thanks and pulled away as I opened the diner door.

The instant I walked in I could feel Skye walking towards me. I hadn't closed the door and I knew she was right behind me.

"Would you care to explain just wht you're late for the fifth time this month?" She snapped.

Skye was a threat no matter of she looked like a low level waitress. I always had issues not laughing at her red-brown bushy ponytail. She continued to glare at me with hands on her hips as I tied on my apron. I could feel her anger reaching boiling point, so I swiftly removed one of the bagels from the paper bag. I held both bagel and bag before her as she started to rant.

"We run a nice, clean diner around here Riku, and I'm not gonna have any- OHH! janova's home-made bagels!"

Skye's hands moved like lightning as she snatched them away from me and began to eat one. While she acted like an over-grown hamster with a cracker, my real boss Dahlia looked through the kitchen window and rolled her eyes as she spoke.

"You're going to ruin her diet if you keep coming in late."

I gave her a sheepish grin while tying my hair back. I could see people heading for one of my tables when a raven-haired child pulled on my apron. I looked do to see he had creepy crimson eyes taht reminded me of Xemnas' pissed off glare. I put on a kind appearence and got eye level with him.

"Where's your mother little guy?" I asked politely.

"Stop making mama and aunty mad before you lose this job." He stated sternly.

Now that is not something you expect to hear from a 5-year-old. I slightly gaped at his words and was about to snap at him when a panicked Dalhia came rushing over.

"Vincent Valentine, stop bothering Riku! Where on earth is your uncle..." She squeaked.

I was still dumb-struck at the fact that my boss had a kid.

"How come I've never seen your son until now with your house being attached to the diner?" I asked.

Dahlia was fussing over Vincent as she looked up at me then around the diner.

"Even on the days you come in late, normally one of his uncles come and pick him up for the day. Snow is usually on time at 8, but I'm guessing today it's Seifer picking him up." She sighed.

Her son looked up and her with a disappointed look on his face, apperently he really likes his uncle Snow more than his Uncle Seifer. Dahlia quickly picked him up and sat him in an empty booth to wait. Now most parents would give a 5-year-old a simple puzzle or a coloring book with crayons, but Dahlia gave him a stuffed black and white cat with a crown and a thick book filled with Edgar Allan Poe. I quickly looked to her and was about to question when a loud man in a beanie stormed in.

"Vincent, uncle Seifer's here!" He shouted.

The little boy sighed. closed his book, and walked over to his apperent uncle. dahlia came back from behind the counter and started to snap at he brother.

"Would you please come on time on the days you take him? I can't have him running around while your too careless to show up! Maybe you should learn a few things from our older brother."

I backed up as he held his hands up in an"I surrender" pose. He quickly scooped up Vincent that was waving bye to his mom, and walked out the door as he stated;

"Hey, at least I'm not like cousin Axel."

I was utterly confused at all this but thought it would be best to stay out of it unless Dahlia needed me for something. I quickly started to head over to my tables and fill out orders. I had a feeling this is going to be a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone sorry this took so long yet again! I had way too much drama and stress to deal with these last few months BUT I finally finished it! I feel really bad still for all my characters….anyhow I don't own any one but the random O.C.s running about.**

** Prince Dizzi**

The day didn't drag on as I had expected. The regulars came and went, but Aerith and her Roxas stayed late. I wouldn't have minded it, but was quickly pulled back by my shirt collar. I was spun on my heels and glared at by Lani, Skye's little sister, and Suki, Dahlia's little sister. They looked ready to strangle me as both scolded me.

"No one, and we mean NO ONE, is allowed to tell them to leave. Our sisters can make it a suggestion, and even that's pushing it!"

"What's so special about them? They just seem like timid people to me." I asked.

Suki's jaw dropped while Lani looked ready to clock me. I guessed they're really close to them or Aerith and Roxas have some serious issues. I held my hands up in an 'I surrender' manner and backed up when I noticed someone was at one of my tables.

"I've got a customer so…kill me later!" I rushed.

Lani grasped for my arm, but I was a hare faster than her, allowing me to make it safely to my table. I quickly pulled out my note pad and pen followed with a welcome.

"Welcome to Dahlia's diner, what would you like?"

The man looked from behind his menu, allowing me to see overly spiky red hair, green eyes, and strange triangle under his eyes. He held a smug look on his face and gave me a mad man's grin when he ordered.

"I'd like coffee and Dahlia to pick up my calls once in a while."

I almost fell over as Dahlia charged out of the kitchen at his words. She was swinging her soup ladle like a mad woman as she yelled;

"Axel, what the hell are you doing? Skye, flamer's here!"

I decided to take cover behind the counter and watched in shock. Axel shot up out of his seat and started walking towards Dahlia. She was swinging her soup ladle wildly at him, narrowly missing his nose with one swing. He ducked and put his hands together in that of prayer as he pleaded.

"Come on Dahlia, it was an accident! I just want to talk!"

You burned my first diner down and flirted with customers! I'm not giving you a job again!" she bellowed.

Suddenly Skye came running down from upstairs with a wooden broom. She looked extremely pissed as she repeatedly beat the red-head with the broom. He scrambled for the door as dahlia threw the ladle smack into his forehead. As he got the door open, Skye brought the broom down so hard on Axel's head it snapped in half and splintered. I thought his head was cut or skull fractured, but he must have used a mass amount of gel in his hair that it worked like a helmet. Small pieces of wood were flying from his hair as he shook and pushed the door further.

"Fine I'll leave! I just wanted to talk!" he whined.

Dahlia at least had enough heart to give him an icepack before letting Skye literally kick him out. Lani and Suki were cleaning up the mangled soup ladle and bit of broom when a sudden laugh coming from the front door made all of us whip our heads around to the source.

"You'd think after all the crap he's done he wouldn't come back." The laughing man stated.

He was tall with blond hair held back by a black bandana. He was holding a drowsy Vincent cuddling his plush cat. He was wrapped in what must have been the man's coat. Dahlia rushed over and scooped up her son while the others smiled and continued cleaning. I quirked an eyebrow at Dahlia and Skye fussing over the blond and Vincent, this confused me beyond annoyed.

"Can someone tell me what the hell just happened?" I calmly questioned.

Dahlia gave me a look of understanding and gestured for me to join their chat.

"Riku, this is my oldest brother Snow." She stated

"And the man I just beat the shit out of was their cousin Axel. He caused Dahlia trouble when she first opened the diner." Informed Skye.

So that's why they all freaked out, now it makes sense. Vincent stirred at this point and was put down to head upstairs to the apartment he shared with his mother. Snow grinned at me while a shorter male came up behind him and clung to his arm. He had startling green eyes and sliver hair a shade darker than mine. He looked at me then Snow with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Can we go home now? I'm tired." He pouted

Snow quickly brought the male into a hug before picking him up bridal style.

"Well I better get Hope home. Skye, you should have that broom framed by Tifa." He chuckled.

Skye grinned at this and quickly took off to call this Tifa chick while everyone else told the boys farewell. Once the couple was gone followed by Aerith and Roxas, Suki suddenly blurted out;

"If there's one thing you need to know about Hope and Snow, is when Hope is 'tired', they gonna screw each other until the sun rises."

I stared wide eyed at her while Lani and dahlia agreed. I was baffled at this being regular conversation in the late hours of closing but left to put my apron away. I was taking my hair down and putting on my coat when Vincent still cuddling his cat plush tugged on my pant leg. I looked at him blankly knowing he wasn't as innocent as he appeared to be. He had a knowing look in his that seemed sad and happy at the same time.

"Take him to nice lady." He smiled.

Who in the hell could this kid be talking about? I held a confused look and nodded slightly as the serious look in his face disturbed me. I really need to talk to Dahlia about what she lets him read. I went back to the main coulter and out the corner of my eye I swore I saw Skye and Dahlia separate like they were hugging or something. I brushed it off and called out as I walked out the diner,

"Night ladies, walking home tonight!"

"Night Riku, be safe!" all four of them answered in a chorus.

I really wish I had a car at a time like this when Mallory forgets to pick me up. This happens more often than not these days. This night was freezing and I've never been fond of the Winter in Hallow Bastion. As I started around the corner onto the next street, a groan followed by a shriek of pain stopped me in my tracks. My eyes widened as I looked down an ally to see a man looking back at me before taking off. I ran to the ally and tried to see if the man was still there, but groans and cries of pain coming from a pile on the ground told me that was the source of what I heard before. Carefully I kneeled down next to it and learned it was a fluffy blue blanket wrapped around someone. I pulled part of it away only to gasp in shock at the site before me. Badly beaten and face stained with tears was the brunette from the market.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! I really seem to have a lot of trouble with this chapter for some odd reason… I had to rewrite it two times just to get it to this point! But anyways things are slowly starting to calm down for me, or at least they seem to be, and hopefully I can try to put up part of a new story soon! Enjoy and review!**

***I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this story except the OCs, everyone else belongs to Square Enix***

I couldn't believe I found him. He looked so innocent even passed out and wounded as he was. I watched his face distort in pain for a moment, making me realize I needed to get him somewhere safe and warm. I knew I couldn't take him back to mom and I also knew dahlia would throw a fit for dragging blood into the diner. My only other option was Mallory's and knowing her pansy of a husband, he will be throwing a fit like a school girl. Sighing in frustration, I wrapped the blanket back around him and lifted him bridal style. He must have been less than 20 pounds, maybe 25 soaking wet, as I felt I hadn't lifted anything. He gave a pained groan along with a few tears when I held him closer to warm him up some.

"Don't worry, you're safe now."I whispered.

A frail looking hand covered in blood clutched at my chest in a way one would in agony. This strengthened my choice as I started to run to Mal's house just to set him at ease.

Even though she was only 2 blocks away from the diner, I was rather winded as I kicked the door violently. I could feel the brunette shivering and his breath getting more ragged as it felt like the temperature had dropped below freezing since I left the diner. Realizing I had my coat and jeans while the brunette only had a blanket; I kicked the door again to where I thought it would break if I had hit it any harder. I was about to kick it once more when Mallory swung it open. The look on her face did not seem very happy as my petite sister glared what should have been my death at me. Just by her bath robe and hair one could tell she had been sleeping moments ago.

"Riku, do you hav-"She yelled before realizing I was carrying an injured person in my tiring arms.

"Get him to the guest room; I'll get Marly and the first aid kit."

She ushered me in with no questions as I rushed to the guest room. I carefully laid him down, his hand still clutching at my shirt to where I had to pry it off of me. I laid my coat on the desk chair as I watched the brunette stir for a moment, but it was only to let out hoarse cries of pain. Marly and Mal both appeared with the medical kit in tow. Mal had me remove him from the blanket as to place him on a clean linen sheet she was placing on the bed. This was went I realized the brunette had no clothing, making my mind jump to the idea that he was raped and beaten by whoever that person was that took off from the alley. Once laid back on the bed, Mal examined him as delicately as she could without hurting him further.

"Marly, go get one of my nightgowns. He has too many open wounds for regular clothes." She ordered.

We both looked at her as if she had lost her sanity (well, what's left of it) but the iron glare she was casting at him said otherwise. Her husband scurried off on orders and Mal called me closer to help with cleaning him up and treating his wounds. He was covered in countless cuts, some with glass and dirt in them, his feet being the worst. He had bruises all over him too, old and new. I had started cleaning what looked to be a bloodied burn on his chest when sis gasped at the site of his glass riddled hand.

"Where in darkness did you find him?"

"In an alley 2 blocks from the diner. I saw some guy run out of there when I noticed him; he must have been the one to do this to him." I answered.

"Thank Shiva you did, he wouldn't have lasted long out there with all these wounds. Some of these cuts look like they may even be infected."

As she said this, I had washed most of the blood off the burn to see it was shaped like a heart. It looked like it was made out of two oddly spiraled pieces and horridly inflamed. This perplexed me as it seemed like what one would mark live stock with. I kept dwelling on this thought as I started to cover it with gauze. Marly had returned at this point with an ankle length navy blue nightgown with silver trim. Once Mal had finished cleaning and bandaging the last of his wounds, she had me assist her in putting the gown on him. Mal had me pick him up once more as to get rid of the now bloodied linen sheet and made me place him under the grey covers of the bed. As I put him down, his face was no longer contorted in pain but was calm, almost as if he was dreaming something peaceful. I subconsciously smoothed out his unruly spiky hair, but stopped when I heard Marly cough and Mal make an 'awwww' sound. I stopped and glared at them, Marly leaving the room looking like a puppy with its tail between its legs. Mal had the blue blanket in her arms along with the sheet, looking closely at the blanket.

"I'll go try to get the blood out of this, see if there is anything that could help us figure out who he is."

I nodded as I sat down in the desk chair and just stared at the brunette I knew nothing about. There was something that was compelling me to watch and protect him, I just couldn't figure out why.

I ended up not sleeping that night. I had left the room after staring for an hour and tried to occupy myself with chores and books Mal always kept around the house. Even though I busied myself, I was constantly checking on the brunette. I was finishing up the laundry when I heard Marly leave, followed by Mal's sing-song voice making a little tune in the kitchen. I checked on the brunette one last time before going into the kitchen and calling Dahlia. Surprisingly it didn't have to lie to her as to why I wasn't coming into work today. She ended up putting me on vacation for a week, making me try my hardest not to let my grin flood into my voice. Hanging up, mal was walking back in with a bit of spring in her step that was normally not there. I would have thought she was on drugs but then I remembered how mom was like when she was pregnant and just laughed.

"Morning Riku! You're up rather early, need me to take you to work today?"She greeted.

Thankfully during my running about the house to busy myself I had started the coffee machine, becoming aware I would need it to keep up with Mal's upbeat behavior. Pouring myself a cup, I explained to her my call to work and how I was now on vacation.

"I go back in a week from today. Good timing too, I don't think our guest will be ready to tell us what happened for at least 3."

Her cheery smile faded some but she understood my reasons. I don't think she would leave an abandoned teenage boy that looked to have been brutalized alone for work. She seemed to be pulling ingredients out to make pancakes as she was starting to remind me of mom on one of her bad days.

"Oh, okay then… That blanket you found him in is clean now. Go check on him."

I could tell she was extremely disconnected as she spoke and just followed orders. I picked up the blue blanket on my way upstairs and hoped the brunette hadn't tried to leave since I last checked on him.

I carefully opened the guest room door and stepped in on light feet. I gave a sigh of relief he was still sound asleep and not trying to climb out the window or something. Trying my best to be silent, I worked my way over to the bed to see its occupant curled up asleep and hugging a pillow to his chest. He looked adorable even with the bruises and bandages. Wait, did I just call him adorable? I think not sleeping is getting to me. Still, even in his battered state I couldn't help to smile when I looked at his face. Without even thinking, I moved my hand to brush some of his brown bangs out of his face. I froze as bright blue eyes slowly opened. He looked dazed as he groaned in his semi-conscious state. They suddenly flew wide, realizing his surroundings. He screamed as he pushed me away, startling me. I wasn't expecting a shove and toppled over onto the floor. He had scrambled out of the bed and curled up in the corner farthest from me. Mal had rushed up the stairs at this point and was in a panic of her own at the sight before her. I stood slowly and turned to the brunette to feel my heart squeeze at the sight of him. Never in my life had I seen someone as terrified as the brunette was in that moment. I felt so miserable at the sight of his frail being curled up with such innocent blue eyes crying so hard. Slowly, I walked a few steps closer to him, holding the blanket out to him. I felt my heart break as he looked as if he was taking a defensive position at me being so close. Did he really think I was going to strike him? I held concern and rage on my face as I carefully wrapped the blanket around him. He gave a cry and started to hit me but stopped and stared wide eyed at me when I stepped back. His eyes were full of tears and confusion as Mal drew closer. He squirmed back further into the corner and pulled the blanket tight around himself.

"It's okay, we won't hurt you. It's safe here."She assured.

She reached a fair skinned hand out to him, both of us hoping he would realize we weren't going to hurt him. He coiled away again, but I noticed he moved more in my direction and away from the door. A thought crossed my mind and I took a rather big risk. I moved slightly closer and got on my knees as to make myself eye level with him. He looked at me with those sad, scared eyes and I just couldn't take it anymore. I pulled him into a gentle yet firm hug as he froze for a moment. I could hear a whine in his throat but I rocked him slightly as I did my best to calm him.

"Shhh, Mallory is just trying to help you." I whispered.

He was shaking but his whine was gone at this point. I felt a small hand reach and clutch my shirt just as he did when I first found him. I carefully took hold of that hand, remembering Mal removed glass and a rusty nail from the palm. Being as gentle as possible, I picked up his bandaged hand and made sure he was looking at our hands. He was shaking more as I saw there were small spots of blood on the bandages. He moved his fingers some, his face looking scared and confused at the bandages.

"See? Mallory helped make your hand better." I smiled.

Sis looked over as well with a smile, this seeming to comfort the brunette more. He looked from me, to sis, then to his hand. My heart swelled as the tiniest of smiles, faint as it was, crossed his lips. He had stopped shaking as I picked him up and set him back on the bed. He looked at the both of us as we stood before him. Mal had her wide cheery smile, though it seemed to frighten the brunette some. He pulled his fluffy blanket closer around him as sis finally spoke again.

"Well…I'm going to go make us all some breakfast. Do you like pancakes?" She asked.

She was looking at the brunette with her steely eyes as his features lit up at the mention of food. I chuckled as Mal nodded.

"Riku's gonna take a look at your wounds before you eat okay?"

The brunette didn't seem to understand what she said but stared at his bandaged feet instead. I furrowed my brows at this while I listened subconsciously to Mall humming down the hall. He looked back at me scared as I grabbed the medical kit and pulled it close to the bed. He curled up and seemed to disappear into the fluffy blue blanket like I wound when I was around five years old. I gently removed the part covering his face and looked into those scared blue eyes. I removed the bandage on his cheek, his whole being shaking once more with his features terrified.

"Shhh, I'm changing your bandages so you can get better. You wanna get better don't you?" I informed.

He nodded his head slowly, his face still showing he was scared and confused as to what was going on. I made sure to keep my actions gentle as I covered his cheek with a fresh bandage and moved on to his arms. His face held too much confusion to be normal as I started to wash some of the cuts out.

"Can you tell me your name?" I asked.

His face looked cautious but at the same time there was an undertone of joy to his features. This confused me until he took one of his hands and gestured to the name "Sora" embroidered in red into the corner of the blanket. I smiled as I finished with the bandages on his feet.

"Can you talk Sora?"

His eyes lit up at the mention of his name but he shook his head "no" at the question. I frowned at this for a moment but went back to smiling as I stood away some.

"Well Sora, we'll just have to teach you. Ready for some breakfast?"

His face lit up like a sparkler at my question. I was as if he had never been treated kindly, though it wouldn't surprise me with the way I found him. He nodded to the food and tried to stand, but I made him sit back down when I saw his face scrunch up in pain.

"You had glass in your feet and it hurt them pretty bad. I'll carry you downstairs okay?" I stated.

I could see tears bubble up in the corners of his eyes from the pain as he agreed to my offer. Quickly, I picked him up so he could place his arms around my neck. He instantly latched his hands onto my shoulders as he shook. I smiled down at him as to assure him it was okay before leaving the room to meet Mal in the kitchen for breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm terribly sorry for the delay on this chapter! I got involved in a bunch of things and kinda had really bad writer's block but now I'm back! I think I have half of the next chapter done? please forgive me and take this as my peace offering and enjoy!**

It was rather entertaining to watch Sora eat. His expression reminded me of a 5 year old having cake. Sis was concerned about how fast he was eating, but learned quickly being too loud correcting him wasn't the smartest move. I watched him with a smile as he would look from us to his plate. I thought we were going to have to give him an actual bath with the mess he had made out of syrup and pancakes. I couldn't help but laugh as Mallory cleaned his face. He wasn't exactly comfortable with it by the expressions he made but he didn't seem to mind it either. His mood seemed to change though as Mal started asking questions.

"So Sora, how did you get hurt so badly?"

He looked down at his hands and fiddled with the bandages on his left hand. Mal gave a confused look as she tried something else.

"Can you talk, or read? Do you-"

I cut her off when I saw tears start running down his face. He soon started to cry loudly, scaring Sis and making my protective instincts jump start. I made myself eye level with him and hugged him gently. He latched his arms around my neck and seemed to be trying to squeeze me even though he was still too weak for that. I turned my head some and gave a slight glare to Mal.

"He's extremely traumatized by what ever happened to him and can't speak. Now is not the time to ask what happened."

I could feel Sora's whole frame shudder with sobs before I picked him up and brought him back to the guest room. I set him on the bed gently as I could so as to prevent any of his wounds from getting irritated. Instantly he crawled to the head of the bed and curled up on his side. He had the blanket pulled up around his neck as I saw him cry in silence. I sat down on the chair I had moved to the bed side yesterday and smoothed his hair out some. This seemed to calm him down as the tears started to slow some in production.

"She didn't mean to upset you. We both just want to know what happened so we can help you get better, okay?"

He looked up at me and nodded feebly, his eyes sad yet understanding of my words. I stayed in the room with him until he started to fall asleep. Sighing I left the room to find Mal and Marly in the living room. When did the pansy get home? I quickly looked at my phone to realize I had been sitting with Sora for almost 5 hours. This perplexed me as Mal beckoned me to join them. I didn't like the look on Marly's face as I sat in the lone armchair slightly tilted to face the sofa the married couple was sitting on. Sis was looking rather worried and very much like mom as she spoke.

"We need to talk about Sora. I know you found him and everything, but we should really take him to a hos-"

I cut her off with the slightest tone of anger in my voice.

"No, he's not going to a hospital. For all you know HE could be working there and I don't want that pedo loving bastard anywhere near Sora."

Both Mal and Marly recoiled from me some, my temper showing what part of dad I took after. Instantly I felt bad for snapping at sis as she curled her form over some and twisted her long purple-grey hair in her hands. Both Marly and I sighed at this and I tried the one thing I knew would bring the smile back to her face.

"Hey, me and our brothers could have ended up torturing your pansy of a husband instead. That would involve a police report, a very long one at that."

Mal's giggle and Marly's glare showed me it worked. I grinned at her before my cell phone started going off in my pocket. Picking it up, all I could hear was mom's crying and screaming as Xemnas tried his best to speak over it.

"Where the hell are you? Mom called the diner and they said you took the day o-"

He was suddenly cut off by mom taking his phone and wailing out at me via cell.

"RIKU, I'VE BEEN SO WORRIED! I Thought you were kidnapped or murdered, or dying in an ally or…"  
She kept on going with a long list of horrible things she thought could have happened to me. I did my best to calm her down to where she was at least stopped from listing off possible deaths and no longer screaming so I could explain I was okay. I didn't tell her about Sora as it would have upset her again. Once she understood of what mostly happened, I was able to talk to Xemnas again. He had an undertone of anger to his voice, but it wasn't out of the norm for him to sound like that.

"Thanks for calming mom down. But please. You or Mallory need to call so mom doesn't have another melt down."

I had to sigh at this as I had a big favor to ask of him. Looking up the staircase as a means to assure myself I should be doing this, I began to explain.

"Yeah…I'm going to need you to help break it to mom that I'm moving in with Mallory and the pansy."

"And why the sudden move from home?" He asked.

"Things have come up at work and since Mal is my ride to work it would be better than being fired."

I knew full well he could see through my lie, but I also knew he would help me no questions asked. Sighing, Xemnas agreed and that he would be over to pick me up tomorrow morning.

"You owe me kid. Next time I need a human example present for a lecture, you're coming with me."

I didn't protest as I really did owe him at least that. Giving my thanks, I hung up and was greeted by a very pissed off Marluxia and a very happy Mallory. I grinned at them as something in me always enjoyed making the pink haired florist miserable. Mal explained I could stay in the other guest room next to Sora's. I hugged her in thanks and headed upstairs to scope out my soon-to-be living space. I could already hear Marly complaining to his wife when I spotted a pale blue door on the left side of the hall I had never noticed before. Curiosity taking me, I opened the door and peeked inside. I gasped in horror at the sight before me. The walls were a soft blue color with little white stars painted all over. Three white painted cribs lined the wall farthest from the door and a changing table lay opposite of them. In the corner closest to the closet was the rosewood rocking chair mom had given Sis with a pile of plush animals and infant toys on it. I don't think I have ever been so horrified to see a nursery in my life as I was in that moment. Silently I closed the door and had a momentary inner freak out at the fact that my sister was having triplets. Triplets! Of all the things to happen, there was going to be 3 little Marlys running around soon. The thought made me shudder and try to block such an idea out of my mind. A small cry from Sora's room completely drew me out of my thoughts and to his room. I opened the door to find him trying to stand on his still much wounded feet and walk to the door. I rushed over and picked him up as to remove any more pressure from his feet. He had started crying loudly at this point and was practically squeezing me. I could only hold him gently until he had calmed down. Just as quickly as it had started, Sora had stopped crying and had a slight case of the hiccups. I set him down to lay on the bed as I calmly smiled at him. I was going to get the medical kit so I could clean his wounds but he latched an arm onto my shirt and tried to pull me closer to him. I gave him a comforting smile as I carefully pried his hand off of my sleeve.

"I'm just going to get the medical kit over there so I can clean your wounds again okay? I'm not going to leave." I assured him.

His grip on me slowly loosened until I was able to get him to completely let me go. Moving to grab the bandages, I noticed he didn't take his eyes off of me. His eyes were starting to shine in a form of fear but at the same time I could see he was starting to trust me. I couldn't help smile at this while getting starting with the bandages on his hands.


End file.
